bothered by not bumping into him. Well, not much, anyway. She hadn’t even, much to her own amazement, lingered long in the cereal aisle. And, the biggest achievement of all was that she suspected she might have purchased every single item on her shopping list. After the forgetting of the loo rolls last week, which had, according to Faye, been a sin worse than any of the deadly ones, normality had been resumed. And, although ‘normality’ in Julia’s life could be substituted with words like ‘mundane’, ‘boring’ and ‘humdrum’, she concluded it was for the best. What, after all, had she been hoping for if she had bumped into Max again? That he would take her away from it all? Whisk her off into the sunset? Of course he wouldn’t. He’d moved on with his life. Done exciting things. Travelled. Enjoyed a successful career. As well as no doubt savouring a string of beautiful, equally successful girlfriends. No, the two of them wouldn’t have a thing in common now. So Julia should just accept the fact that her destiny did not include excitement; that there were two sorts of people in the world – the doers and the plodders. And she was well and truly ensconced in the plodder category.
Loading up the boot of her car with carrier bags, she started at the sound of a voice behind her. A deep, melodious voice. And one oh-so-familiar.
‘Julia.’
She whipped around to find Max striding across the car park towards her. Her heart leaped into her throat, while the carrier bag she’d been about to hurl into the car tumbled back into the trolley.
‘M-Max,’ she stammered, as he came to stand directly in front of her. ‘How, um, are you?’
‘All the better for seeing you,’ he replied, with a smile that sent delicious shivers of lust down Julia’s spine. ‘I was hoping to bump into you again.’
Julia felt colour rise in her cheeks.
‘How’ve you been since I last saw you?’
Miserable. Ratty. Confused, Julia resisted saying. Completely pathetic given that Max probably hadn’t given her a second thought. Although something about the way he looked at her made her suspect that might not be true. ‘Okay,’ she muttered.
‘I wondered if you’d like to go for a coffee.’
Julia’s mouth dropped open. Coffee? With Max? On a Friday afternoon? She couldn’t. She totally couldn’t. She wasn’t mentally prepared for that kind of meeting. It was fifty steps ahead of a quick chat in the cereal aisle. Besides, she had things to do. Ironing, for instance. Lots of ironing. And the twins’ tea to make. And she was a married woman. She couldn’t just go for coffee with an ex-boyfriend. What would people think if they saw her?
‘I’d love to,’ she replied.
Chapter Five
Much to her own amazement, Julia immediately suggested a venue: the coffee shop at the garden centre along the road. Max followed her there in his Audi A4. A classy, understated car that seemed perfect for him. Paul had a flash Jag which always embarrassed Julia. On the rare occasions she had to drive it, she always felt honour-bound to explain that it wasn’t hers. But no flashy boys’ toys for Max. No flashy anything. Even his tan was subtle. And every time she looked in her rear-view mirror, there he was. Looking straight back at her – with those amazing grey-green eyes. Eyes that reignited feelings Julia never, in a million years, thought she’d ever experience again. But this couldn’t possibly be right. She shouldn’t be experiencing those feelings. She should never have accepted his invitation. What would they talk about? Would he think her the most boring woman on the planet? What the hell was she doing? And why did it seem to be taking an interminable amount of time to reach their destination, when it was actually only a ten-minute drive away?
‘Good choice,’ said Max, when they eventually reached the garden centre and he climbed out of his Audi, which he’d parked right next to Julia’s Fiat. For the first time in
Loading up the boot of her car with carrier bags, she started at the sound of a voice behind her. A deep, melodious voice. And one oh-so-familiar.
‘Julia.’
She whipped around to find Max striding across the car park towards her. Her heart leaped into her throat, while the carrier bag she’d been about to hurl into the car tumbled back into the trolley.
‘M-Max,’ she stammered, as he came to stand directly in front of her. ‘How, um, are you?’
‘All the better for seeing you,’ he replied, with a smile that sent delicious shivers of lust down Julia’s spine. ‘I was hoping to bump into you again.’
Julia felt colour rise in her cheeks.
‘How’ve you been since I last saw you?’
Miserable. Ratty. Confused, Julia resisted saying. Completely pathetic given that Max probably hadn’t given her a second thought. Although something about the way he looked at her made her suspect that might not be true. ‘Okay,’ she muttered.
‘I wondered if you’d like to go for a coffee.’
Julia’s mouth dropped open. Coffee? With Max? On a Friday afternoon? She couldn’t. She totally couldn’t. She wasn’t mentally prepared for that kind of meeting. It was fifty steps ahead of a quick chat in the cereal aisle. Besides, she had things to do. Ironing, for instance. Lots of ironing. And the twins’ tea to make. And she was a married woman. She couldn’t just go for coffee with an ex-boyfriend. What would people think if they saw her?
‘I’d love to,’ she replied.
Chapter Five
Much to her own amazement, Julia immediately suggested a venue: the coffee shop at the garden centre along the road. Max followed her there in his Audi A4. A classy, understated car that seemed perfect for him. Paul had a flash Jag which always embarrassed Julia. On the rare occasions she had to drive it, she always felt honour-bound to explain that it wasn’t hers. But no flashy boys’ toys for Max. No flashy anything. Even his tan was subtle. And every time she looked in her rear-view mirror, there he was. Looking straight back at her – with those amazing grey-green eyes. Eyes that reignited feelings Julia never, in a million years, thought she’d ever experience again. But this couldn’t possibly be right. She shouldn’t be experiencing those feelings. She should never have accepted his invitation. What would they talk about? Would he think her the most boring woman on the planet? What the hell was she doing? And why did it seem to be taking an interminable amount of time to reach their destination, when it was actually only a ten-minute drive away?
‘Good choice,’ said Max, when they eventually reached the garden centre and he climbed out of his Audi, which he’d parked right next to Julia’s Fiat. For the first time in
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